Upcoming Events

Class and Event Schedule for ​January - March

​Cultivating Emotional Balance

COURSE DESCRIPTIONAt some point in our lives we may have heard and been constrained by the notion that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or “this is just the way I am”. In Cultivating Emotional Balance Training (CEBT), we are encouraged to release the shackles of limitation by broadening our attention to the vast ocean of possibilities and learn to ride the currents of an ever-changing universe. The truth is that the dynamic force of change that runs through all of nature endows each one of us with an extraordinary capacity to evolve. In CEBT, we are called to move beyond the confines of normalcy by probing the depths of exceptional mental balance and awakening a heartfelt concern toward our own and others’ well-being.

Contemplatives for millennia have demonstrated the possibility of transformation while science is demonstrating the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, which correlates with the potential for change in our lives. While human existence cannot be reduced to brain activity, scientific insights reinforce contemplative introspective strategies such as paying attention and understanding sensations, thoughts, and feelings and how they may have significant impact on ourselves and others well-being. Cultivating Emotional Balance becomes ever so necessary in this evolution and our capacity to train our minds for the good.

INSTRUCTORSherri Aikin, MSNSherri has been teaching CEBT since 2015 after attending the teachers training in Australia with Eve Ekman PhD and Alan Wallace, PhD. Sherri has taught local law enforcement officers at the Washoe County Sheriff’s office and Reno Police Department, as well as at the Washoe County Public Defenders office and REMSA. She has had an ongoing community mindfulness course since 2014. She also holds a certification from UCLA as a Mindfulness Facilitator. While Sherri is dedicated to the secular teachings imparted in the CEBT training and mindfulness, she has been a dedicated student to Buddhism in both practice and study.

COURSE GOALSThe course consists of 12 hours of training in meditation practice, understanding the Four Balances of emotional stability, group discussion, and experiential exercises:

⦿ Understand the Four Balances: Conative, Attention, Mental and Emotional Balance⦿ Understand and recognize the 7 universal emotions⦿ Cultivate the Four Immeasurables⦿ Cultivate Mindfulness practice⦿ Understand the science of emotions and the emotional timeline⦿ Understand the benefits of cultivating emotional balance and the scientific support of meditation

Anyone can benefit by attending at any point in the series, so don’t hesitate to drop in to a class!

COURSE COST125 $

​Monday, January 14, 2019 - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM - Every week on Monday until March 5, 2019

​(Not affiliated with FPMT)

Drop In Meditation

Meditation is an effective, yet simple way to deal with many life stresses. There is a growing body of scientific research indicating that meditation is highly effective in reducing physical and mental stress.

​The group will be reading in different areas of the book week by week. There is no set time to finish this reading, and the group will be meditating using three types of meditation. A handout will be provided to all meditators, and do not worry about coming into the middle of our journey through this book. The book is available on Kindle, or you can buy a copy at cost at Dharmakaya Center.

​His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been publicly teaching Buddhism for decades. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion collects his presentations of every step of the path to enlightenment, compiled and coauthored by one of his chief Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron.

​The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said were true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and as the rich tradition of the Buddha makes its way into new lands and cultures, His Holiness has recognized that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives. Such an approach cannot assume listeners are free from doubt and already have faith in Buddhism’s basic tenets. The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series, therefore, starts from the universal human wish for happiness and presents the dynamic nature of the mind. This first volume also provides a wealth of reflections on Buddhist history and fundamentals, contemporary issues, and the Dalai Lama’s own personal experiences. It stands alone as an introduction to Buddhism, but it also provides a foundation for the systematic illumination of the path in the volumes to come.